THE NEW METHOD OF LONG BONE MULTILEVEL DEFORMITIES CORRECTION USING THE ORTHOPEDIC HEXAPOD (PRELIMINARY REPORT)

For the treatment of patients with multilevel deformities when there are contraindications for an acute single step correction the external fixation should be applied including orthopedic hexapods. At the same time a separate orthopedic hexapod is used for each level of deformity. This leads to a significant bulkiness of the overall frame assembly. Calculation of deformity correction in the presence of an intermediate fragment (fragments) and practical implementation of correction represent by no means a simple task.

Purpose of the study – to perform a clinical approbation of “spring” technique for multilevel correction of long bones deformities and to evaluate the results.

Materials and methods. The authors developed an original technique for correcting multilevel deformities using a single orthopedic hexapod. During the procedure the hexapod struts are fixed only to the proximal and distal rings, and the intermediate ring (rings) is fixed to the adjacent supports using the springs – a so-called “spring” technique. The new method has been successfully tested in the treatment of 7 patients with 2 and 3-level deformities of long bones.

Results. The reported correction accuracy was 97.6%. The fixation period averaged 47 weeks (from 37 to 54 weeks). In 2 cases the authors observed soft tissues inflammation around of transosseous elements eradicated by the administration of antibiotics. In one patient with post-traumatic deformity a premature consolidation was observed at one of the levels which required re-osteotomy with further correction using two hexapods.

Conclusion. Preliminary results demonstrated that the use of simultaneous correction of deformities at several levels applying one orthopedic hexapod Ortho-SUV and springs simplifies correction calculations, provides optimal timing for deformity correction while maintaining the minimal frame dimensions.